Amazon

Friday, June 26, 2015

Former State Representative Convicted on Bribery Charge

A former state representative and Pikeville, Kentucky, coal
operator, Wendell Keith Hall, has been convicted by a jury of bribing a federal
mine official.

The jury deliberated for one hour and 30 minutes following
five days of trial.According to
evidence presented at trial, Hall, who represented House District 93 in the
Kentucky General Assembly, paid mine reclamation officer Kelly Shortridge for
favorable treatment in connection with his official duties.

Shortridge worked as an environmental inspector for the
Office of Surface Mine Reclamation and Enforcement, where he was responsible
for enforcing federal mine reclamation laws and regulations.From 2006 through 2011, Shortridge inspected
mines owned by Hall.Shortridge ignored
violations that occurred on Hall’s property in exchange for a series of
payments totaling over $46,000.

The evidence also established that the two men disguised the
payments as consulting fees.In 2010,
they set up a shell company, DKJ Consulting, in the name of Shortridge’s wife
and opened a bank account with her as the sole authorized signatory on the
account.Hall then used a company he
owned, S&K Properties, to funnel money to Shortridge through DKJ to make
the payments appear as legitimate business expenses.

“Mr. Hall’s brazen scheme to corrupt an important
governmental function for his personal benefit is made all the more egregious
by his former status as a member of the Kentucky General Assembly,” said U.S.
Attorney Kerry B. Harvey for the Eastern District of Kentucky.“The United States will seek a sentence which
properly reflects the serious nature of Mr. Hall’s criminal conduct.”

Shortridge pleaded guilty in February of this year.Shortridge is scheduled to be sentenced on
Aug. 6, 2015.U.S. Attorney Harvey,
Special Agent in Charge, Howard S. Marshall for the FBI and Scott Oliver of the
Office of Inspector General for the Department of Interior jointly made the
announcement.

Hall faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.However, any sentence imposed will come after
the court considers the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statutes
governing the imposition of sentences.